Near-total clampdowns of ‘red zone’ areas have begun across the city, as the district administration shifts its focus from identification to containment of the coronavirus.
A task force comprising officials from the health department, police and GVMC are implementing the clampdown in seven red zones identified within the city limits and in the district, including in Narsipatnam, from where two COVID-19 cases were recorded.
The red zones are Thatichetlapalem, Akkayyapalem, Padmanabham, Gajuwaka, Allipuram, Narsipatnam and Poorna Market.
“All of the positive cases in Visakhapatnam district so far have been reported from these areas, and we have declared a 3-km radius as containment zones and have sealed the areas,” Collector V. Vinay Chand told The Hindu.
So far, 20 cases have been recorded in Visakhapatnam district, of which four have been discharged after treatment. As of now, 16 persons are undergoing treatment for COVID-19, and four are likely to be discharged early next week, Principal of Andhra Medical College Dr. P.V. Sudhakar said.
Returnees identified
“The district administration has already identified all foreign returnees as well as those who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Markaz in Nizamuddin, Delhi. We have also identified all those who were in close contact with the persons who tested positive for COVID-19. We are now shifting to a wider surveillance of people in the containment areas and red zones” Mr. Vinay Chand said.
There are around four lakh families in all seven red zones, and the district administration will soon begin rapid testing for a wider surveillance.
“The teams have been told to report any case that shows at least one of the four symptoms for COVID -19. It is no longer necessary for workers to go for a detailed check if someone shows all four symptoms. Even if a person exhibits one symptom, we will go for a rapid test,” Mr. Vinay Chand said.
The administration has been adopting the RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) test for COVID-19. But as it is time consuming and does not suit our rapid testing initiative, the administration is in the process of acquiring rapid test kits, be it from the A.P. MedTech Zone or from some other laboratory.
Swift diagnosis
Until the kits can be acquired, the district administration has decided to use Truenat TB test kits to diagnose the infection.
“The Truenat TB kit is used to diagnose more of a bacterial infection, but the same kit can also be used to check virus infections just by changing a few reagents and using the same machinery,” said Dr. P.V. Sudhakar.
The district administration has already completed a training programme for the laboratory technicians and are awaiting the arrival of the required reagents.
“There are 17 microscopic testing centres in the district, including 12 community health centres, two area hospitals, two district hospitals and one referral hospital, and all the technicians have been trained to handle Truenat TB test kits,” said Mr. Vinay Chand.
These kits will aid in primary screening and if the test indicates an infection present in the body, he or she will be sent to the isolation ward for further RT-PCR tests, he added.
The advantage that we get is mass screening, as over 3,000 people can be tested on a daily basis, the Collector said.
